100 Greatest Phillies: 22 – Pat Burrell

With the first pick in the 1998 draft, the Phillies selected Pat Burrell, a big outfielder from the University of Miami. In return, the slugger gave the Phils and their fans nine crazy but ultimately rewarding seasons. He finished second on the franchise all-time home run list with 251, but no hit was larger than his final hit as a Phillie, a smoked double off the left-center field wall that turned into the winning run of the clinching game of the 2008 World Series. Before then, Burrell bashed the ball regularly, with eight straight seasons of 20 or more home runs. He also had troubles staying consistent, hitting for below a .260 average six times. Still, his best seasons were extremely good. In 2002 he hit .282 with 37 homers, and he parlayed a ridiculous second half in 2007 to finish with 30 homers. He also reached base a ton toward the end of his run, finishing in the NL top 10 for walks in his final four seasons in Philadelphia. He signed as a free agent with the Tampa Bay Rays in 2009, the same team that fell victim to his biggest hit.

Comment: Burrell gave fans some great times during his nine-year career. He was what he was: A strong power hitter who found consistency sparingly. But when he was on, boy was he on. We’ll miss Burrell, and he definitely earns a top 25 spot in the Greatest Phillies countdown, with a little debate on whether he should be top 20.

69 Comments

In a way it’s amazing that after all the animosity over his performance throughout the years, in the end he left a hero. It’s a small list of ex-Phillies that get standing ovations when they come back to town with another team. The fact that Pat will be one of those guys, along with Thome and others, speaks volumes about his last several years here.

It’s not how you start or even what happens in the middle, but how you end that seals the deal. Pat has cemented his place in Philly’s heart, got his ring, and can enjoy the rest of his career being a DH.

Burrell will always be one of my top 5 Phillies of all time (In my 25 year era of being a Phillies fan). I know its unlikely, but I hope he comes back to retire here. He just doesn’t look right in a Tampa uniform.

Ibanez was probably an upgrade over Pat the Bat, but man I’d rather have Pat in the lineup just for nostalgia purposes. I won’t really miss him in the field… Just gonna miss hearing Harry Kalas saying “Burrell steps up to the plate.” Hearing that you always knew there was a chance he’d rock one.

good riddance pat, when this guy came up in a clutch situation, the best i could hope for was a walk, more often then not he would either look at a called third strike or pop up , in my book he is the all time prima donna and choke in my 45 years of following the phils. you just cant have him and howard being in a funk at the same time. you can live with howard because when he gets hot he can carry the team.

Its funny…if you would have asked for an opinion about Burrell’s production 2 years ago,well,lets just say it wouldnt be so heartwarming as today.No body wanted this guy on the Phils,they were ready to run him out of town.
Now,he is a “beloved former Phil”.
Wow….a world series win really softens up the fans.As I guess it should.

I love the “choke” nonsense about Burrell. His two homers in the clinching game of the NLDS, his game winning home run off of Lowe in game one of the NLCS and his double that scored the winning run of the World Series clincher show how un-clutch he is.

I also love how people dismiss his walks. Citizen’s Bank Park lead the majors in % of runners on base who came around to score.

I remember driving to New York one night to visit family, listening to the Phillies playing the Mets at Shea and Pat hitting a homerun to win the game off Armando Benitez. It was amazing, and then showing up at my mets fan Uncle’s house and gloating about Pat the Bat.

For a guy with a colorless and predictable batting technique, he undeniably was able to consistently produce the power numbers. Just goes to show you that most pitchers are dumb. I didn’t realize he is that high on the franchise all-time home run list. I am impressed. # 22 is fine with me even though he could neither run nor field well. Top 20? No way. The top 20 demands more than 25+ yearly homers and a pedestrian .257 BA. Aim the ball at his effeminate looking head and banish him to the Amercian League.

Damn, trying to select the top 10 is proving to be a perplexing experience.

BFO, i completely agree.
I was at the parade and everyone in my section (on Broad Street unfortunately) was yelling, “One more year! One more year!” And you know what, I was too because that double made my being a Phillies Phan that much more worth it. But in hindsight, yes we got Ibanez at a bad price, but it’s better for Pat the Bat to go out with a bang instead of another frustrating bum year.
But Pat, thanks for the memories. That double will always be cherished among all Phils Phans!

The one thing I’ll say is Burrell, even when in one of his crazy bad slumps, was always a standup guy to the media. he never threw his teamates under the bus, always took responsibility for his play. Just for the amount of pipe that man layed in our glorious city, he is deserving of the top 25. I wonder what Pat was doing the night Jason Michaels was arrested? Whatever it was, it was probably a lot more interesting than what I was doing.

I love on the Phils WS DVD, Rollins calls him out. Telling Pat he needs to get his swagger back and then Pat just to spite Jimmy goes and hits a 400 ft double. His only hit in the series and it was the biggest of his career.

Pat the Bat, one of my all time favorites! I basically matured as a baseball fan as Burrell matured as a player. It all came full circle last year and what a way to finish it off for the Phils as well. I still get a bit choked up watching that infamous double that would eventually score the game winning run. If Burrell’s time in Philly had to end, that was the way to end it.

Pat has been my Favorite Phil since he first put on a uni. The problem is that most fan are still mad that he never lived up to the hype, I could care less, he was a stand-up guy and a good ballplayer. The fact that the fans demanded that he be traded almost every year and the media throw him under the bus, and he still had nothing bad to say about either speaks volumes of his character.

I bought Hall of Fame Club tickets (just in case it is brutally cold) for the April 4th game just to see Pat the Bat Burrell again……live. Standing Ovations for sure! He certainly did frustrate me at times, but damn, when he was on, that swing of his was sweet!…………Outta Heeeereeeeee!!!!!

I remember teaching a large bag of cheetos a lesson. It barely stood a chance as I was watching the Phillies and stuffing my cheeks full of cheetos. My cat’s head was orange by the time that Burrell walked.

ashmidt, what can I say? I am not exactly young but I took the time to learn new stats that tell a lot more about a player than BA and RBI do. I just looked up stats that proved that Burrell was the same player in “clutch” situations as he was in situations with no one on base. But if you’d like to just hate on Burrell because you don’t like him, feel free.

I remember Pat hitting a homer at the Vet that broke the plastic on one of the lighted signs in left field. Thanks, Pat, for your years of service to all of us starving fans. Let’s remember him for what he did. He helped win a World Series for the Phils and that alone is plenty.

I will miss Pat-the-Bat soooooo much. He was my 2nd favorite Phillie behind Rollins. I personally think he should have been top 20, but that’s just me. I got my ticket to the April 3rd Pat the Bat tribute and I can’t wait for it. I’m going to be the loudest one there when he gets in the batters box for the 1st time. I bet you he cries when he gets his ovation.

For all of you saying he’s not clutch, let it be known that he had the 2nd most amount of game winning hits in the NL behind Derek Lee last year. He was also really good on the road too, which most players aren’t. Just some FYI. Pat Burrell was ridiculously clutch. I can name some really big moments. Home run off of Wagner. Home run off of Wilson. Home run off of Velverde. Double in the WS. I just think the people who are bashing his “unclutchness” are just thinking about his streakiness. FYI Late innings in close games he had a .418 OBP. That’s insane. His batting average is .298. So if he didn’t get a hit he got on base which still helps his team. He has a career OBP of .500 in extra innings which is also insane.

Phil, good stuff. As I stated earlier in this post, Burrell had the two homer game in the NLDS clincher against the Brewers, the game winning homer off of Lowe in Game 1 of the NLCS and the double that led to the game winning home run of the World Series clincher. Sounds clutch to me.

Good player, great hitter, and a stand-up guy. Pat’s yet another example of dealing with unrealistic expectations. If you liked him, you saw the clutch play, the ability to get on base, and the desire at the plate. If you didn’t like him you saw him watching third strikes, enduring long slumps, and not acting like a baby when he was frustrated (unlike so many big leaguers).

For me, he eventually evolved into a Doug DeCinces-type player (albeit weaker in the field and stronger at the plate): a guy whose numbers would come in bunches, a guy who could get unbelievably hot and carry a team for a month, a guy whose long slumps would leave you utterly mystified.

Finally, let’s look at a somewhat unscientific comparison:

Player #1:

G 1306, H 1166, HR 251, RBI 827, BB 785, SO 1273, OBP .367, SLG .485

Player #2:

G 1289, H 1299, HR 223, RBI 811, BB 622, SO 1098, OPB .375, SLG .519

In the field, player #1 probably gets the nod by a small margin due to slightly better FP and more assists.

Player #1 is Pat Burrell, obviously.

Player #2 is Greg Luzinski (White Sox stats excluded).

Not all that different, really. The Bull’s a bit better at the plate, Pat gets the nod in the field (people tend to forget the Bull’s crappy fielding; even Skates seemed better, so the Bull got to sit out large portions of the Series). The Bull probably gets the nod overall, but not by a whole lot, and some of it’s due to nostalgia. Pat could easily be higher than this.

By the way, if any of my numbers are wrong, please let me know. I did the Bull’s Phillie stats pretty quickly, so they be off a tad.

I know everbody is now warm & fuzzy about Burrell now….But I’ll always remember him striking out many,many ,many times on that low outside slider from a righthanded pitcher.
You could almost see it happening in your mind before he missed the pitch for strike 3.

Way, way too high. Are you kidding me – Granny Hammer had more impact for an entire Phillies career. Not always, but too often empty numbers . If you want to merit on big numbers Del Unser and Marty Bystrom would be right there with Pat.

Hindsight’s golden, but at this point I’d rather have Pat for 2 years at $16m than Ibanez for 3 at $30m. If Pat gets his ABs for Tampa he’ll put up some very good numbers, I’m guessing in the 33HR, 115RBI range. If they have him protecting Eva Longoria in the lineup he’ll see a lot of baserunners when he’s up. I think it was a mistake to let him go, but I don’t think management dreamed they could get him as cheaply as the Rays did.

Del Unser? You must mean Del Ennis. Ennis’ stats are certainly better than Burrell’s, and he was around longer so he has both better numbers and length-of-service in his favor. I have no problem with Ennis being higher than Burrell on the list.

Marty Bystrom? Marty Bystrom? Would that be the Marty Bystrom who had two whole winning seasons (5-0 in 1980 and a big 4-3 in 1981)? Would that be the Marty Bystrom who had a grand total of 64 starts for the Phils? The Marty Bystrom with an ERA north of 4? All Bystrom has on the positive side of the ledger is 1980. Not a bad thing to have, but nothing like Pat.

As for Hammer, if you want to like him more than Burrell, go ahead, but if you compare the two statistically Burrell’s the clear winner. It’s not even close.

I wonder how many of you actually seen Luzinski played during his years with the team? For those who have not and are relying only on stats for comparison, I can tell you it does not give you the complete picture of the player(s). While the offensive stats suggests that they are comparable, I know that Burrell is more patient as a hitter (see the huge disparity for total walks in their respective careers) than Luzinski. The “Bull” had less patience at the plate. He was never known for his astute knowledge of a pitcher’s repertoire and habits. And as a few mentioned, Burrell was more “clutch” in key situations. And fielding? NO comparison. Burrell had a stronger and more accurate arm. At least Burrell can catch what he can get to. I watched Luzinski played in LF and shuddered whenever a long flyball heads his way. He would lumbered and circled under it and the ball found his glove. 🙂

When Luzinski went to the White Sox in 1981 and played for 4 years, he was a designated hitter for all but two games duriing that period. The manager/coaches scouted and knew about the Bull’s reputation as a fielder.

Ed R. It’s very enriching to read your pro Burrell rants and other assorted insights. Entries like your comparative post with Luzinski makes this blog a worthwhile stop. The Bull had fan appeal that Burrell just didn’t have in spite of some of his late inning heroics. When Greg juiced one it was cosmically exciting. Advantage, Luzinski.

Not so much pro-Burrell as wanting to give credit where credit’s due. Trust me, my first Phillies experiences were in Connie Mack, so I saw plenty of the Bull. At his best, the Bull was pretty scary at the plate (and in the field too, truth be told) in a way that Burrell never matched. He also connected with the fans in a way Burrell didn’t. I also saw a picture of him wearing the White Sox uniform with the shorts, but that’s another story.

As for Pat, I can’t begin to count the times I screamed in frustration as he watched the third strike go by with men on base.

The thing about Pat, and it happened with Schmidt on a much higher level, is that people were always disappointed by him because they felt he could do better. I mean, if he could hit 30+ HR and 100 RBI while somehow mysteriously avoiding the ball almost entirely for about 2 1/2 months of any given season then he “should” be capable of truly monstrous numbers. These unrealised expectations were the burden he had to carry, unlike the Bull, who always looked like he was fulfilling his potential.

He’s never been my favorite player, but once I figured out what he was by understanding his stats I was happy he was with us. I’m glad his Phillie career ended on a high note (like the Bull’s) and that he finally achieved some popularity.

I don’t want to diss the Bull too much, but people forget that by the WS in 1980 he was almost an afterthought. His fielding was terrible (and this on one of the best defensive teams in the history of baseball, IMO), and Smith was so hot that the Phils couldn’t wait to get rid of the Bull to the Sox. I believe they received a cheese sandwich in return.

Overall I probably prefer the Bull by just a teeny bit, but he’d better have Maddox (probably my favorite all-time Phillie) there to protect him in the field. I still wish they’d resigned Pat, though.

deal and Griff, I actually wonder if Burrell’s double in Game 5 reached the seats that he’d possibly still be a Phillie. He would have been remembered as the guy that won the World Series (along with Hamels and Lidge). It would have been A LOT harder to let him go after that.